YOU ARE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE (to an extent)
It is likely you won't take the time to solely digest this article; and there inlies the common issue for most struggling businesses ... FOCUS!
Today, I found myself helping a Business Owner by having to deliver some hard truths ... the reason for your business struggles is: "your inability to apply & commit" - fortunately they're hearing me out, though I'm sure it's hard for them to hear and accept what I'm saying.
ACTION
It's a common story in marketing, that to get good or great results you have to know who to target, what to action, where and how - Once you know the answers to this you have to er ... action them!
THE STORY
After months of helping an American Retail Business, I still find myself chasing them, trying to get them to action what I've taught them and to use what I've put-in-place for them.
Lacking clarity with much of their business, this store owner has monthly overheads of $3,000+ - YES, that's 'PER MONTH' and before any profit or personal income can be made !
LOGGING FOOTFALL inc.BARRIERS TO SALE
We've discussed so many metrics and Sales activities, however, we're now looking at Logging Visitor numbers each day with a focus on knowing why each one didn't lead to a sale.
Despite the $100's shelled out on various softwares, they don't know their visitor DAILY FACTS:
WHAT WE DID - HOW TO TRACK FOOTFALL aka.FOOT TRAFFIC
In a nutshell... you can use a Web Form - as I've produced for this Client and others before them.
I've built a Web Form which automajically writes to a Spreadsheet and that spreadsheet even includes a Dashboard Visualisation which allows the Business Owner to see at a Glance where the problems lay along with any trends in the day-to-day visitor scenario.
I call it a "Visitor Log Form". Here's what I did:
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Client loves the form! BUT... they don't use the form as much as I've asked them to, 30% of the day gets recorded. It's not because our Form is difficult (several questions taking max.20 - 40seconds), it's because as with all of us Business Owners we take tangents (aka.Phonecalls, Life Events), we lose focus, we lack consistency (Staff Training) etc.
A FIX FOR THE FIX - PRODUCE A CUSTOMER SURVEY FORM
In the likely event you are like my Client ie.You suffer the same 'Inability to Apply' (that is, you're not using the Form enough), then: get your Visitor to do it - but it requires a different form suitable for Visitors eyes!
Produce the Visitor Survey Form (as we have) + Batch purchase a reward (eg.Candy bars), tell EACH visitor that they get a Candy Bar reward in exchange for filling-in a simple Visitor Survey Form (the separate Form intended for Customer Use, rather than the Log Form mentioned above intended for Staff use).
IN CONCLUSION: The Takeaway for you - The Business Owner / Decision Maker
Regardless of what you think you know, or what facilities or systems you've put in place, you have to use them! Don't be like the majority of Businesses: Struggling due to lack of action!
If you're interested in my Visitor Tracking Form (Visitor Log for Staff + Survey Form for Visitors), I can produce both for you and linked Spreadsheets for you for a relatively Small Fee (nowhere near the price of Softwares out there). By all means contact me and I'll be glad to help you.
Steve Walters
Director, Marketing and Business Advice
00 +44 844 824 61 51
ABOUT STEVE WALTERS:
A consultant in WebTech, Marketing and Business Advice since 1995. Running my own UK based Consultancy since 2008. I help companies of all sizes and shapes: from 1-man-bands to Multi-Million turnover companies on the London Stock Exchange, most of my Clients are in England, some in the USA and a handful locally in Swansea, South Wales. I love helping people, I excel at innovation and creative problem solving and I don't mind tech too much.
It is likely you won't take the time to solely digest this article; and there inlies the common issue for most struggling businesses ... FOCUS!
Today, I found myself helping a Business Owner by having to deliver some hard truths ... the reason for your business struggles is: "your inability to apply & commit" - fortunately they're hearing me out, though I'm sure it's hard for them to hear and accept what I'm saying.
ACTION
It's a common story in marketing, that to get good or great results you have to know who to target, what to action, where and how - Once you know the answers to this you have to er ... action them!
THE STORY
After months of helping an American Retail Business, I still find myself chasing them, trying to get them to action what I've taught them and to use what I've put-in-place for them.
Lacking clarity with much of their business, this store owner has monthly overheads of $3,000+ - YES, that's 'PER MONTH' and before any profit or personal income can be made !
LOGGING FOOTFALL inc.BARRIERS TO SALE
We've discussed so many metrics and Sales activities, however, we're now looking at Logging Visitor numbers each day with a focus on knowing why each one didn't lead to a sale.
Despite the $100's shelled out on various softwares, they don't know their visitor DAILY FACTS:
- How many visit during what hours of the day?
- How much do they spend?
- What demographic are they? what were they seeking?
- What were the problems that lead to them leaving without buying.
WHAT WE DID - HOW TO TRACK FOOTFALL aka.FOOT TRAFFIC
In a nutshell... you can use a Web Form - as I've produced for this Client and others before them.
I've built a Web Form which automajically writes to a Spreadsheet and that spreadsheet even includes a Dashboard Visualisation which allows the Business Owner to see at a Glance where the problems lay along with any trends in the day-to-day visitor scenario.
I call it a "Visitor Log Form". Here's what I did:
- I spent much time (several hours) researching the best metrics to collect.
- From automated Date & Time stamp to pre-populated fields like: Visit Duration, Estimated-Age and more.
- The form also includes fields that collects insights for Barriers to Sale (why there wasn't a Sale), Ideas & Improvements fields and more!!
- I spent much time (hours) ensuring the Form is: Fast, Simple yet Insightful.
- via well-thought-out questions & with rapid, multiple choice, pre-thought-out Answers
- From automated Date & Time stamps, pre-populated fields like: Visit Duration, Estimated-Age and more. A Barriers to Sale field (why there wasn't a Sale), Ideas/Improvements field and more!!
- It's all collated into an Online Google Spreadsheet.
WHAT HAPPENED?
The Client loves the form! BUT... they don't use the form as much as I've asked them to, 30% of the day gets recorded. It's not because our Form is difficult (several questions taking max.20 - 40seconds), it's because as with all of us Business Owners we take tangents (aka.Phonecalls, Life Events), we lose focus, we lack consistency (Staff Training) etc.
A FIX FOR THE FIX - PRODUCE A CUSTOMER SURVEY FORM
In the likely event you are like my Client ie.You suffer the same 'Inability to Apply' (that is, you're not using the Form enough), then: get your Visitor to do it - but it requires a different form suitable for Visitors eyes!
Produce the Visitor Survey Form (as we have) + Batch purchase a reward (eg.Candy bars), tell EACH visitor that they get a Candy Bar reward in exchange for filling-in a simple Visitor Survey Form (the separate Form intended for Customer Use, rather than the Log Form mentioned above intended for Staff use).
IN CONCLUSION: The Takeaway for you - The Business Owner / Decision Maker
Regardless of what you think you know, or what facilities or systems you've put in place, you have to use them! Don't be like the majority of Businesses: Struggling due to lack of action!
If you're interested in my Visitor Tracking Form (Visitor Log for Staff + Survey Form for Visitors), I can produce both for you and linked Spreadsheets for you for a relatively Small Fee (nowhere near the price of Softwares out there). By all means contact me and I'll be glad to help you.
Steve Walters
Director, Marketing and Business Advice
00 +44 844 824 61 51
ABOUT STEVE WALTERS:
A consultant in WebTech, Marketing and Business Advice since 1995. Running my own UK based Consultancy since 2008. I help companies of all sizes and shapes: from 1-man-bands to Multi-Million turnover companies on the London Stock Exchange, most of my Clients are in England, some in the USA and a handful locally in Swansea, South Wales. I love helping people, I excel at innovation and creative problem solving and I don't mind tech too much.
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